“Kimchi” Pickled Vegetable Salad

Let’s be honest, you had me at kimchi. And who doesn’t’ love a good vegetable salad in the springtime? They are bright and garden-fresh at its peak! Add some pickling flavor and now it’s a party. I personally like eating food in its raw state with some added seasonings or sauces. Its cleaner, healthier and I never feel guilty after eating it. I’m a big visual person too so the vibrant colors in the salad really speak to me on the plate.

Kimchi is a Korean side dish of salted and fermented vegetables that include cabbage and radish…think spicy sauerkraut. It is fermented for hours and includes seasonings such as gochugaru (a Korean chili powder), onions, garlic and ginger. If you don’t have a local Asian market to purchase the chili powder you can substitute it with Aleppo pepper flakes, chipotle powder or cayenne pepper.

Now picture both the fresh garden salad and fermented kimchi exploding together in one dish. Yeah….your welcome. While I expected a fresh flavor, I wasn’t expecting that intense of a punch from the ginger and fresh herbs. It is so refreshing! My boys don’t like food too spicy so I reduced the heat a bit in this recipe. However, they do love crisp pickled veggies. Being that it is a light salad, there is no full-bodied fermentation happening here, but it includes all the ingredients that you would from a traditional kimchi recipe. You can serve this salad as a side dish or as a main meal with a piece of grilled chicken, shrimp or fish.

With this recipe I give you the gift of time and health. Waiting for fermented veggies? Who has time for that? This dish is healthy, fresh, spicy and is perfect for a quick weeknight meal in between study sessions, soccer practices and baseball games.

Cheers!